Hope for Luna
by peridotdream
Summary: Christmas dinner at the Burrow didn't go quite as planned... PercyLuna


A/N: This was written for a ship challenge, and it had to include a certain quote. SO, that quote is from Mary Anne Radmacher, the characters and anything you recognize is also not mine, aaaannnnd, I hope you like it )**

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**Hope for Luna**

Percy Weasley walked warily out of his childhood home and down the path through the garden. His hands stuffed in his pockets to keep them warm, he tried not to look back. He wasn't leaving, exactly...not yet, at least. He figured they just needed time to talk about him before he could go back, before things could be okay.

After a short series of awkward lunches with his father, he'd been convinced to come to Christmas dinner at The Burrow. Part of him had been extremely excited at the notion of finally reconnecting with his family, however the majority of his mind had been uncomfortable and doubting. Despite his uptight exterior, he'd missed his mum. It's hard not to, with the War finally ending, getting promoted - there was no one to chat to late at night, no one to celebrate with. Being cast out of your family got lonely sometimes.

Somehow he'd known trying to win his brothers' affections back would be futile. They'd never liked him much in the first place, and then he'd gone and committed a cardinal sin in their eyes. He never was quite like them. But on the other hand, they'd never understood him, either.

He kicked at a small patch of dirt, trying not to shiver. He sighed deeply, looking around. Nothing had changed since he was little, at least something didn't.

"Trying to find gnomes?" A soft voice came from behind him. He looked back and saw Luna Lovegood looking thoroughly interested in his activity. He smiled amusedly - Luna always was good for a smile. She smiled back sincerely and he nearly chuckled.

"No, no," he responded, looking back at the patch of dirt he'd kicked. "Just...walking." He finished lamely.

"Oh, good!" She replied with a grin, walking up right next to him. "I was just about to do that myself - mind if I join you?" She asked hopefully.

"Not at all," he grinned back. As they began to walk, Percy marveled at how oblivious she was to his situation. All afternoon she'd seemed to be off in her own little world, laughing at jokes when she heard them, speaking only when spoken to, smiling at everyone - things of the like.

"You work in the Ministry, right?" She asked conversationally. Percy shot her a surprised look, but felt a burst of pride at the comment.

"Yes," he said, beaming. "Yes I do."

"I thought so...I've seen you once or twice, coming and going. What do you do there?"

"I'm in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, I work with the ambassadors usually." He said proudly. If there was one thing Percy loved, it was his work. It was important work, too. He'd worked his way up the ladder until he was now working with the Head of the Department, routinely welcoming ambassadors and participating in meetings about international affairs and agreements. He'd been waiting for a job like this since he entered the Ministry almost ten years ago.

"So, do you work in the Ministry as well?" Percy inquired. It was odd, he hadn't ever seen her there.

"Yes," she said with a soft smile on her face. "I work in the Department of Mysteries." Percy raised his eyebrows - he knew an Unspeakable or two, but...not many. No one knew too many Unspeakables - they weren't exactly social.

"Oh really? And how do you like it down there?" He asked curiously. He'd always wondered about the Department of Mysteries - it had to be ifasinating/i work.

"Oh, it's quite interesting." Luna replied, nodding for emphasis. She paused and the conversation quickly dropped off. She looked up at him as they walked and smiled.

"So..." Percy tried to continue as they approached the far edge of the pond. They slowed to a stop and stood there, in what Percy felt was a very awkward silence, but Luna didn't seem to notice. He looked at her and saw that her mind was elsewhere. She was looking out across the pond, back toward the Burrow, but her mind didn't seem to be there. It was like she was completely caught up in something else - Percy knew that look. He wore it quite often when engulfed in an important treaty or document that required his full attention. He chuckled softly at the resemblance and stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking off in the same direction.

"You don't have to be alienated, you know." Luna said out of the blue. It didn't sound blunt, though, because of the soft tone in which she'd said it. Percy turned to her and saw that she hadn't moved a muscle.

"...Excuse me?" He asked. She turned and looked at him, as if it were obvious.

"From your family. Ginny told me that you don't come around often, that you all don't get along quite well. I don't understand it, though. You seem perfectly normal to me." Percy might've caught the irony in that statement had he not be caught so offguard by her comments.

"Er..." He stumbled for the right thing to say. _I'm not sure that's any of your business?_ and _Excuse me?_ came to mind immediately, but other than that (and he found them pofoundly inappropriate for the situation), he was at a loss for words.

"Family's important." Luna said distantly. He saw that she'd turned away again. She never looked down, but he could hear the sadness in her voice.

"Why aren't you with your family then?" He asked quietly, trying to avoid talking about his own problems. Luna looked at him and sighed.

"My mother died when I was young, and my father was killed during the War. Death Eaters didn't like The Quibbler much, apparently." She said bluntly. A wistful look had come across her features and she looked sad. "Don't let your siblings get you down - they're supposed to give you a hard time," she grinned. "Ginny once told me it was 'part of the job description' when I asked her why she never left Ron alone." Percy smirked at the thought - that certainly was something Ginny would say.

"I'm just...not the Gryffindor they wanted." He said in his own bluntly honest way, trying to smile. He had tried to make the comment sound light, but it struck a chord with him that he couldn't shake off.

"Oh, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff - who even knows the difference anymore?" She said with a look of distaste. "If I worked and associated with exclusively Ravenclaws I wouldn't be here now."

"You were a Ravenclaw?" Percy asked, surprised. Luna nodded.

"They didn't like me much, though." She added, almost as an afterthought. They fell into silence again as Percy contemplated the implications of Luna's appearance at Christmas dinner. She really was as far-off as she'd seemed at the meal and quite interesting to boot.

"You know, just because you didn't run into battle during the War doesn't mean you're not brave." Luna said after a moment. Percy shrugged.

"Courage was just never my forte." Percy replied, shrugging.

"Courage doesn't always roar." Luna said, eerily quiet. He looked at her and she seemed to be staring right into him. "Sometimes," she continued with a soft smile. "Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I'll try again tomorrow.' " Percy stared at her, drinking in her meaning.

"Ready to go back inside?" He said, clearing his throat and trying not to sound as affected as he was. He tore his gaze away from her and started to walk back.

"All right," he heard her say. A moment later she caught up with him, and slipped her arm through his. As they walked back Percy admired his sister's friend. A Ravenclaw, an Unspeakable and an apparent wealth of useful advice - he never knew his family would let someone so different into their fold. Maybe, if there was hope for Luna Lovegood, there was hope for him, too, after all.


End file.
